Mason Jr., Wizards cast doom on Lakers

WASHINGTON — The same arena that rocked to “M-V-P!” for Kobe Bryant in the first half was bellowing “Beat L.A.!” in the final minute.

It’s amazing the fans weren’t speechless over what they were witnessing. It wasn’t merely that the Los Angeles Lakers had blown a 21-point, second-half lead to the lowly Washington Wizards — it was the fact that the Lakers had essentially lost the game to a bunch of Wizards second-stringers.

It truly is almost surreal what happened in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 106-101 victory Wednesday. Kevin Seraphin scored 10 of his career-high 14 points. Roger Mason Jr. hit three huge 3-pointers. Nick Young, who usually passes the ball only with great reluctance, had four of his career-high six assists. Trevor Booker, the only starter to see significant minutes, grabbed eight of his career-high 17 rebounds.

Bryant, who seemingly could do whatever he wanted in the first half, went 1 for 10 in the final period to finish with an unfulfilling 30 points.

Conclusion: It’s safe to say that the Lakers thought they had it won when they were leading 76-55 in the third quarter.

“I was out there kind of loafing around and having a good time,” said Andrew Bynum, who scored 19 points but committed seven turnovers. “They played up, got the home crowd into it, and they were able to hit shots.”